Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply. I am sure he has seen the Comptroller and Auditor General's report which indicated that 39% of the carbon tax increases are not accounted for. The Minister outlined a 73% spend by his Department between 2020 and 2023 and that, in 2023 alone, there was an underspend in the region of €37 million.

On the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, let us park positions on carbon tax and the difference between the Green Party and Sinn Féin. Surely we can agree that the issues highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General are concerning, that this funding has not been spent, has been returned to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and the Department of Social Protection and has not been properly accounted for. We do not have carbon tax headings in our accounting systems in various Departments and we cannot track whether money is being spent where it is supposed to be.

See this speech in context